Grateful For Your Friendship

My dear friend. I am so grateful for you.

I was listening to a talk by meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein the other day called “The Kind Heart” and it really inspired me.

In it, he talked about his Lovingkindness practice – a beautiful meditation which you wish Happiness, Health, Safety, and Living with Ease to yourself, someone you love unconditionally, someone with which you have difficulty, and a neutral person.

I love practicing this meditation and have shared it with you before. It makes me feel so full of love – both for myself and for those around me.

He mentioned something that transformed the way I think about meeting other people. Truth be told, I was very shy growing up and still am pretty shy and quiet when I meet new people. Once I’ve met them, I ease into comfort, but the initial meeting tends to be a difficult experience for me. I’ve heard of thinking of someone you meet as your friend already. But, Joseph Goldstein took it a step further, he said to think of everyone you meet as already an old, dear friend. He came upon this from his Lovingkindness meditation practice.

This totally hit home for me and made so much sense. Through the practice of Lovingkindness, you cultivate a sense of love, kindness, gratitude, and a well wishing to others, even those you don’t already know. It helps you to realize that we are all in this together. All going through the joys and sorrows that life presents us with. So, taking it a step further and thinking of others as old friends already… it made me feel so good inside.

Since taking his advice, it has changed my interactions with others in profound ways. No longer am I nervous and shy. I feel less judged because I’m not worried about what others think of me. I’m only thinking about this deep connection we already have. I’ve had some wonderful conversations and felt so close to individuals I just met and barely knew. I’ve felt this deeper connection with those around me and people I don’t even know yet.

We are all old friends. We are in this together. And, in this season of gratitude, I am grateful for you.

In honor of this gratitude, I’ve decided to offer a little gift to you – my first discount code for sessions. Get 50% off a session with me – any that I offer: Yoga for Trauma, Meditation, Breathwork, Reiki Energy Healing… I’m doing sessions via Zoom, so wherever you are we can meet, breathe, and heal.

Just use code GRATEFUL50 when you book a session on my website or mention it if you book the session directly with me via phone or email.

Also, if you’d like to practice the Loving Kindness Meditation, here is a link to a video that I recorded guiding you through the steps: